Pixlr – Eat this Photoshop Express…
Dont get me wrong, Photoshop Express is pretty cool….but, its just not photoshop. Without layers and selection tools it is simply a neat way to mess around with photos. Pixlr, however, goes that one step further and provides layers and most of the tools your used to in photoshop in a neat and uncluttered layout via its website. It is flash based and so its performance will vary from machine to machine but so far for me it has not been anything other than blazingly fast. I think it even beats installed photoshop cs3 on many occasions! The good thing about Photoshop Express, however, is that you can store your images on the Adobe servers (currently up to 2gb) which is pretty natty. For me, I would rather use Pixlr and a memory stick any day!
This Application was suggested to me by my mate Dan, so thanks matey! (If you have any suggestions please do not hesitate to contact me so you can share them with the world!)
tiltshiftmaker.com – Create tiltshift images on the fly…
I have posted links to tutorials in the past on how to achieve the tilt shift lens effect on images, making your photos look like snaps of model villages. Well forget that as tiltshiftmaker.com does it for you.
You just upload your image and use the simple controls to make your own. Very easy. Very effective.
P.s. There is also an iPhone application that you can use which is pretty cool. You can get that here.
Paparazzi – Capture images of WHOLE websites
Lots of posts coming to you today…. mostly because i’m off work sick, freezing cold and bored to death!
Anyways…
Paparazzi does something that I have been looking for for a long time. It is an application that captures images of an ENTIRE webpage, no matter the size…great for bloggers or for those of you who would like to document and record the evolving states of your website.
IF YOUR RUNNING LEOPARD MAKE SURE YOU DOWNLOAD VERSION [0.4.3] AS [0.5] DOES NOT WORK…
Below is a capture of the bbc.co.uk
Poladroid – Re-create the good ol’ days…
This is a really fun and nostalgic little app.
Poladroid sits on your desktop and whatever you drag onto it will be magically transformed into a wonderful polaroid image. You can also save the images at any stage of development (which you can speed up by giving it a shake!).
Some of my attempts are below!
HP iPrint Photo – Print Photos direct from your iPhone
This free iphone app is brilliant. It allows you to print directly to an HP printer via wifi.
Check it out…Its Free
CompFight – Search thousands of FULLY FREE images…
Compfight is a search engine that references FLICKR but only returns results from images that have CREATIVE COMMONS licenses. This means that you can (mostly) freely use the images for your own purposes without feeling the wrath of an IP lawyer!..
It has a really nice and simple interface and works relatively quickly. Check it out.
Color Expert – Colour library in your pocket!
This one is a pretty contentious issue. Can one truly work with colour on an uncalibrated screen.
Well despite my initial misgivings, yes you can and quite succesfully. Its never going to be perfect but if your a designer, work with textiles or simply want to re-decorate your kitchen you cant really go wrong for £5.99. This web app works like a charm and despite being used on a typically saturated screen, the colour matching actually isnt that bad, and goes a long way to helping choose those oh so inmportant hues.
I love that you can email the swatched you create to yourself or others as it generates a lovely image of the colours to include in the mail as well as the colour details.
Cooliris – Reloaded on the iPhone
jeez, I just installed the iPhone App (hot of the press) thanks to the lovely Jenny Lum letting me know that its available……..crikey it works reaaaaaally well, I was expecting it to be a lot slower than the safari app but hell no…..if anything it may even be faster!
For me the killer is being able to email images direct from the application, great for doing little bits of research on the bus etc. (I know not all of you are dorky beans like me!)
Definitely get this one guys and best of all its free!
Grunge Textures – More amazing *FREE* backgrounds…
Like urbandirty.com, their sister site, grungetextures.com has zillions of great background for your (ab)using pleasure.
Don’t miss this one!
iPhone Photography Awards – Interesting Competition
I came across this website today that is dedicated to promoting the genré if iPhone photography. As most of you will know the iPhone photographs have a certain quality about them and can make for some really interesting and diverse images.
The competition does charge a small fee for entry and there isnt really much of a prize (being featured in a book annualy is their idea of a prize…wheres the free stuff!) but its nominal (about £1.50) and just to cover their costs.
If your interested head on over!
